Tank Style or Tankless Water Heaters; Here Is Why It Is Important to Annually Flush Your Water Heater

Your water heater is one of the most important, if not the most important appliance in your household. With such an important investment, it is a great idea to keep up annually with proper maintenance. Most of us never remember to keep up with our water heater maintenance and annual flush until our water heater starts leaking or malfunctioning.  With a few annual maintenance tips, you can prolong the life of your water heater and help prevent damage to your tank for years to come. 

Do You Need to Flush Your Water Heater if You Have a Tank Water Heater?

Whether you have a gas, electric, solar, or hybrid water heater, throughout the lifespan of your unit, it will build up sediment at the bottom of the water heater. This sediment can drastically reduce the gallon capacity of your tank by taking up valuable space within the tank.  The sediment can also clog your drain valve at the bottom, making draining and flushing your water heater nearly impossible.  Sediment also hardens as it forms buildup and puts undue pressure on the glass lining of your water heater tank, causing the glass lining to prematurely crack and creating the immediate need for a new water heater.  Once the lining inside your water heater breaks, the galvanized tank will rust through and cause a leak, and in some cases flooding.

Draining and flushing your water heater annually helps to reduce the buildup of sediment, which helps to ensure a longer lifespan, gallon capacity, and efficiency of your water heater.  If you’re a do it yourself kind of person we have a great video on how to drain your tank style water heater 

Do You Need to Flush Your Water Heater if You Have a Tankless Water Heater?

We have a video on tankless water heaters and the things you need to know, one of those important things when investing in a tankless water heater is don’t unless you’re ready to maintain them annually.  Tankless water heaters heat on demand and they do not store water, but minerals still go through them at a rapid pace.  Protecting your investment means annual flushing on your tankless water heater with a pump and vinegar to clean out the system.

If you’re not in a position to have your tankless water heater flushed annually it may not be the best investment for you.  A tankless water heater can literally burn out from too much sediment build up causing it to not perform correctly or even need to be replaced.  Tankless water heaters when they have too much sediment buildup often disburse that sediment into the hot water lines causing faucets and shower heads to build up with mineral deposits. 

To maintain optimum efficiency and performance from your tankless water heater you should flush it every year. When you flush your tankless water heater it removes loose sediment which allows your unit, whether gas or electric, to heat as designed by the manufacturer.  Removing the loose sediment also prevents your water heater from quickly corroding, overall extending the lifespan of your tankless water heater.

Flushing Water Heaters Is a Key Part of Plumbing Maintenance

Bottom line, whether you have a gas, electric, solar, hybrid or it’s tank style, or tankless, throughout the lifespan of your water heater it will build up sediment. If you have a tank style water heater, that built-up sediment can reduce efficiency, reduce gallon capacity and cause replacement of the unit.  If you have a tankless water heater the sediment build up can deteriorate the unit’s efficiency and cause it to be replaced prematurely.

When you’ve found yourself in need of plumbing services or you would like to have your water heater flushed in the Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, or Chandler area, you can trust Robins Plumbing to provide you with prompt and expert care, contact our team today! In addition to our toilet services, we also offer a variety of residential and commercial plumbing services, including: drain cleaning, water heater repair and replacement, sewer camera inspection and locating, backflow prevention, commercial and residential jetting, water treatments, and more. Visit our reviews online to see what others have to say about our local plumbing company!